Oral History Interview with John H. Smith, May 10, 2001

Transcript of an oral interview with John H. Smith. Born in Summerville, Pennsylvania in 1915. He describes conditions during the Great Depression. After graduating from high school in 1934, he spent two years in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) where he describes building roads, fire roads, parks, and dams for water conservation and swimming areas. In 1936 he took a job at Bell Aircraft in Buffalo, New York at a steel foundry making parts for landing craft. He describes conditions during the war including rationing. In July 1945 he was drafted into the Navy and sent to boot camp at Sampson Training Base on Lake Geneva, in New York. When the war ended he was sent to the foundry at San Diego Naval Base. He provides detail about foundry work. After a month in the foundry he was sent to Electronics School. Soon he was discharged in San Diego and made his way back to Buffalo where he joined the Naval Reserves and was recalled in 1950 for the Korean War and assigned to the USS New Jersey (BB-62) for nine months. His wife got sick and he was given a hardship discharge